OREANDA-NEWS. December 16, 2014. Sberbank has expanded its line of bankcards, adding new cards with contactless technology: MasterCard PayPass and Visa payWave.

Previously contactless technology was available only with Sberbank Premium cards. Sberbank now offers clients a debit card MasterCard Standard “Contactless” with PayPass technology as well as a cobranded credit or debit card Visa Gold “Aeroflot” with payWave technology. Clients can apply for cards at any Sberbank branch in Russia.

“Speed, convenience and safety make MasterCard PayPass and Visa payWave especially attractive for both Sberbank clients and payment service companies,” said Rostislav Yanykin, Head of the Bank Card and Cashing Department at Sberbank of Russia. “To make a purchase the cardholder does not need to give their card to the cashier, allowing the client to completely control the payment process. An integrated chip adds an additional layer of security to the card, which helps prevent unauthorized access to funds.”

Cards with PayPass and payWave technology allow for the payment of goods and services in a matter of seconds, and save the cardholder time that would otherwise be spent searching for exact change. The client simply signs the receipt or enters a PIN code (if the transaction exceeds 1,000 rubles). Payments with contact cards are very secure since the cardholder does not pass the card to the service provider employee at payment.

For retail and service providers, PayPass and payWave technology simplify the payment process, speed up service, and reduce queues at checkouts and expenses on cash operations, helping to improve customer loyalty.

PayPass and payWave technology are based on international EMV standards for chip cards and provide for the use of cards at payment terminals worldwide. This makes it possible to use PayPass/payWave cards in 50 countries where contactless technology is deployed, as well as at millions of service providers that accept traditional MasterCard and Visa cards. When making a purchase outside of Russia using MasterCard PayPass/Visa payWave, the client should ask a store employee about the limit for contactless payments without a signature or PIN code.